Containers for carrying fruits and/or vegetables are now made of plastics material to replace containers which were previously made from wood or cardboard. Plastic containers may be easily cleaned, washed and re-used frequently. They can easily be repaired or recycled.
However, up until now, plastic containers have included, in some cases, fourteen components, some of which are metallic, such as the rods which act as hinges for the folding of the side walls onto the bottom wall. Therefore, if a container needs to be washed, the metallic components must be removed in order to avoid rust. Such containers are difficult to repair and costly to recycle since the metal components must be separated from the plastic parts.
One plastic container, free of metallic components, may be found described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,834 issued Mar. 21, 1995 to Umiker. However, an unfolded position of the side walls to a horizontal position to the outside is not possible.